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Explore the groundbreaking field of multi-messenger astronomy through this lecture that examines neutron star mergers and their role in creating heavy elements and energetic cosmic explosions. Delve into the ultra-dense cores of massive stars that explode as supernovae, which have been intensively studied since the 1960s as sources of radio emission known as pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, and strong gravitational wave emitters. Learn about the historic 2017 detection by LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave interferometers of two merging neutron stars, localized to a sky patch roughly 150 full moons in size. Discover how the speaker's team led the localization campaign that identified the optical emission from this source, enabling the first detailed tracking of a kilonova transient across all electromagnetic wavelengths. Understand the remarkable findings that this kilonova existed in an extremely old cosmic environment for most of the Universe's history, was powered by extremely heavy radioactive elements, and could only be explained by the merger of two neutron stars each slightly more massive than the Sun. Examine multiple observing campaigns conducted since 2017 to locate the next gravitational wave-detected kilonova, addressing challenges in surveying large sky areas, characterizing kilonova candidates, and refining emission models. Gain insights into the first results from the multi-messenger Treasure TROVE, an innovative API-enabled tool and web platform designed to collect electromagnetic data on gravitational wave event counterpart candidates in real time, facilitating follow-up observations and discovery of future kilonovae from neutron star mergers.
